Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Pondside Dunking
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Feeling blood rushing to his head, Geon Cheon-hwi groaned and opened his eyes.
“Ugh...... Ack!”
As his pupils focused, something began to come into Geon Cheon-hwi's view.
Clank. Clank clank.
Along with the sound of something coiling, Geon Cheon-hwi floated up lightly.
Clang clank clang.
‘Huh?’
Did he hit too hard?
Why was the pond above his head?
Come to think of it, the pavilion in front of him had its roof facing the ground, and the ground was facing the sky.
He finally understood what it meant for the world to be turned upside down.
Geon Cheon-hwi blinked.
Blood pooling in his head made him feel stuffy.
A dizzying sensation kept making him feel like he would fall downward.
“W-What...... is this?”
As he instinctively turned his gaze, he saw the Thunder Dragon Squad dangling like potatoes on vines.
Huh?
What? Who did this......?
Following the iron chains slowly, a massive iron pillar came into view, and in front of it, Namgung Hyeok was looking his way with a leisurely expression.
Geon Cheon-hwi's mouth slowly gaped open.
Something bubbled up furiously in his chest.
“You're awake?”
Geon Cheon-hwi blinked at Namgung Hyeok, who grinned smugly.
He tried to wrap his head around the situation, but no answers came.
“What...... is the meaning of this?”
Namgung Hyeok smirked.
“I hung you up.”
“......”
“So, what do you think you'll do now?”
Geon Cheon-hwi's pupils shook.
What would come to mind seeing the Thunder Dragon Squad hanging upside down over the pond?
No way?
Wait, hold on a second.
“......Don't do something you'll regret. This is the Thunder Dragon Squad. Think you can handle us?!”
“Ow, scary. Almost let go there.”
Clank!
Splash!
As Namgung Hyeok waved his hand, the chains swayed violently and dropped a handspan lower.
As Geon Cheon-hwi's eyebrows curved.
Thunder Dragon Squad Vice Leader Tak Hyeok-dong bulged his bull-like eyes and glared at Namgung Hyeok.
“You fucking bastard! You think you'll get away with this?! Don't you know who I am? Let us down! Let us down, I said!”
Tak Hyeok-dong huffed and grew even angrier.
Namgung Hyeok chuckled.
‘They've got some spirit.’
They were said to be the Namgung family's headache.
“Let you down?”
“You laughing? Laughing?! You think this is a joke?! You wanna die! What are you gonna do when we get out? Hey! Let us down, you punk!”
“Then get down after I let you loose.”
“You son of a bitch!”
Splash clank! Splash clank clank!
Every time Tak Hyeok-dong thrashed, the chains rattled like screams.
The passed-out Thunder Dragon Squad members began regaining consciousness one by one.
Vice Leader Tak Hyeok-dong spat drool, his face flushed red from blood rush, and bellowed at Namgung Hyeok.
“You little shit! Before I tie your entrails into a noose, let us down! When I get out, I'll fold your waist, box it up, and send it to your family! Come here! Come here, you punk!”
The other awakened Thunder Dragon Squad members struggled too.
Clank! Clang clatter!
“Let us down!”
“We'll rip you apart?!”
“You brat, wanna get your skull cracked?!”
“Who the hell are you to......!”
Clang clank clang!
The chains thrashed, and the iron pillar staked into the ground shook.
Namgung Hyeok snickered.
“Everyone's awake, so shall we start now?”
“What?”
“What do you mean, what.”
Namgung Hyeok released the chain he was holding with a flick.
In an instant, the chains connected to the Thunder Dragon Squad swung wildly.
Splash clank clank clank!
Geon Cheon-hwi's eyes went wide.
“Wha, wh-what?!”
Geon Cheon-hwi screamed. With the sensation of his body dropping sharply, the water surface rushed toward his head.
Splash-thud!
Gurgle gurgle gurgle!
Water flooding into his mouth and nose made it impossible to think straight.
His lungs felt like they would swell full of water.
Geon Cheon-hwi twisted his body and strained his arms, but the chains didn't budge.
Instead, his body sank endlessly toward the pond bottom.
‘Gahk!’
Clank! Clank! Splash clank!
The chains twisted and plunged into the pond.
Splish splash.
Ripples spread on the surface as bubbles rose bubbling up.
Namgung Hyeok sat in the pavilion, humming a tune.
Hum hum.
With one leg crossed leisurely, he gazed at the pond and took fruit from Geum Cheomsang.
Crunch crunch.
“Delicious.”
The sweetness was just right—not bad at all.
Savoring the taste, Namgung Hyeok tugged on the chain laid out to one side.
Splash clank clank!
Sploooosh!
Water sprayed as the Thunder Dragon Squad, submerged below, rose back to the surface.
“Pwahaaack!!”
Geon Cheon-hwi, vomiting water from his lungs, glared at Namgung Hyeok with bloodshot eyes.
‘This crazy bastard?’
Beside him, Tak Hyeok-dong thrashed.
“Hwahk! You crazy fuck! What the hell are you doing! You think I'll obey just 'cause of this?! I'm Tak Hyeok-dong! Let me go if you don't wanna die! When I get out, I'll snap your neck for real!”
The Thunder Dragon Squad glared at Namgung Hyeok with murderous intent.
Clank! Clank!
The chains shook roughly.
Crunch crunch.
Chewing fruit, Namgung Hyeok smiled faintly.
“You think I'd do it just once?”
“Huh?”
Namgung Hyeok let go of the chain.
The Thunder Dragon Squad plummeted back into the pond.
“Th-This crazy!”
“You son of......!”
Splash-thud!
A water column shot up, ripples spreading in the pond.
The chains floating on the surface thrashed.
Blub blub blub.
Geum Cheomsang gulped dryly, watching the bubbles rising like from a boiling hot spring.
For ordinary folk, their lungs would have shriveled black and they'd be dead by now—no surprise there.
Soon, the thrashing chains went still, and no more bubbles rose.
“U-Um......”
Geum Cheomsang's pupils shook anxiously.
“......Young master?”
“Oh.”
As if suddenly remembering, Namgung Hyeok pulled the chain.
Splash clank! Splash clank!
Sploosh!
Water sprayed as the Thunder Dragon Squad, limbs limp, rose back to the surface.
“Urk eeeek!”
“Hweeeek!”
“Queeeek!”
The Thunder Dragon Squad retched, spewing water that had filled their stomachs.
Namgung Hyeok turned to look at Geum Cheomsang.
“What?”
“......Th-They're gonna die like that.”
“Die? Who?”
“They'll die if you keep dunking them. Their condition right now is......”
Namgung Hyeok tilted his head.
“They're not dead yet? Look, they're still moving. Full of life.”
No, of course they move if they're alive!
“......N-Not full of life, though?”
“That's full of life enough.”
“......”
“It's just some water in their lungs—what's the big deal.”
Crunch crunch.
Chewing fruit with a ‘so what's the problem?’ look, Namgung Hyeok eyed Geum Cheomsang.
Geum Cheomsang's face paled white.
“Th-They'll die—that's a big deal! You said control the Thunder Dragon Squad, not kill them......”
“You think they'll die from this?”
“They look like they will!”
“That's their fate then.”
“Pardon?”
“This isn't trying to kill them, right?”
“This?”
Ordinary people would have died three times over by now?
Geum Cheomsang gasped at Namgung Hyeok's utterly nonchalant attitude.
“Th-They'll die! They will!”
“If they die, nothing to be done. Just use the survivors.”
“Pardon?”
“No need for me to worry about the dead ones.”
Namgung Hyeok slurped the fruit juice neatly and grinned.
Geum Cheomsang gaped, and Geon Cheon-hwi, who had been gathering his wits while hanging, couldn't close his mouth upon hearing it.
‘D-Die? Bad luck if they do?’
What kind of crazy bastard is this?
Geon Cheon-hwi's thoughts froze at the unimaginable mindset.
His occiput itched, and his heart tightened.
Geon Cheon-hwi's eyes burned red.
‘H-He really means to kill us? No way, right? No way.’
He's just scaring us.
Yeah, definitely intimidation.
He dunked us long, but pulled us out in the end, didn't he?
This is clearly a threat.
‘That brat's pretending to be tough. He's heard our rumors and is trying to cow us. Sly little punk!’
No way. Not falling for it.
Even the hardened Celestial Bow Squad Leader couldn't tame them.
The Celestial Bow Squad Leader had beaten them mercilessly, but they endured to the end, cracking the pride of that haughty leader.
That's why the Celestial Bow Squad Leader foams at the mouth just hearing Thunder Dragon Squad!
Geon Cheon-hwi gritted his teeth.
‘Just think about getting out. For now, stroke the brat's ego......’
Tak Hyeok-dong yelled beside him.
“Urk eeeek! You dogshit punk! You think you can do what even the Celestial Bow Squad Leader couldn't?! Come fight me fair, punk! I'm the guy who took Seven Thunder Palms and survived—think this scares me?! You ever taken Seven Thunder Palms and shat blood?!
Huh? Hey, wait......
“Come at us! We're not dying, you fuck!”
“Hmph! You call this torture?! You clueless brat, just imitating without knowing the world!”
“Do it, do it! Do......”
Splash clank!
Splash-thud!
Gurgle gurgle gurgle!
Geon Cheon-hwi's eyes bulged.
Water poured into his nose and mouth.
Wriggle wriggle!
No matter how he shook, squeezed, and twisted, nothing budged.
‘F-Fucking hell......’
The chains kept dropping lower, and Geon Cheon-hwi's body sank to the pond bottom.
‘Calm down, calm!’
Just hold your breath.
Endure and negotiate again.
He'll pull us up anyway.
He will.
Roughly one incense stick's time, then he'll pull us up......
......
Why isn't he pulling us up?
It wasn't just bluff?
‘He really means to......!’
Amid the lung-crushing pain, his eyes began rolling back.
His body went limp, but the chains stayed put.
Geon Cheon-hwi's mouth gaped.
‘This crazy......!’
Blub blub blub!
His eyes rolled back, foam rising to the surface.
* * *
Drip drip drip......
Water droplets trailed down his disheveled hair and fell into the pond.
Geon Cheon-hwi's rolled-back eyes twitched.
“U-Uweeek! Hweeeek! Hweeeek!”
He retched emptily, spitting water, gasping raggedly for air.
“Hoooook! Hoooook! Hoooook!”
Desperate for even a sip of air, Geon Cheon-hwi gaped his mouth wide.
‘Th-Thought I was dead.’
No, he really almost died and came back.
Air felt so welcome and precious, a revelation.
Geon Cheon-hwi's shoulders trembled.
The other Thunder Dragon Squad members snapped to awareness around then.
They too, with half-rolled eyes, retched and panted just like Geon Cheon-hwi.
Then, instinctively, they looked forward.
Right before their eyes, Namgung Hyeok held the chain, smirking.
He playfully tugged and shook it, making their bodies jolt each time.
Geon Cheon-hwi spoke up.
“P-Please spare us.”
Thunder Dragon Squad rookie Jang Woong begged.
“Y-Young master! Please spare us! I was mad, how dare I—!”
The Thunder Dragon Squad wailed in unison.
“Young master, we were wrong—!”
“Just spare us! Please, just spare us!”
“Hueeeeng!”
They cried out desperately, never wanting to go under again.
Namgung Hyeok stared at them blankly, then released the chain.
Splash clank clank!
Clang thud!
“Why, wha—?!”
“W-What's this?!”
Splash-thud!
The Thunder Dragon Squad sank back into the pond and went still.
Geum Cheomsang, who had been watching anxiously beside Namgung Hyeok, burst out.
“Young master! They begged for mercy—why dunk them again?!”
“Oh, right. Thought they'd act up again.”
“Q-Quick, pull them up! They really looked like they were dying.”
Geum Cheomsang shouted urgently, but Namgung Hyeok shrugged.
“Might as well do one more since they're down there anyway.”
“Pardon?”
“Pulling the chain's kinda tiring, you know?”
Namgung Hyeok grinned, watching the bubbling surface.
“Full of life.”